Not Really All That Subtle
by Concolor44
Summary: A bit of a follow-up to "Things Change". Surprises are in store for a couple of the characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Not Really All That Subtle**

_By Concolor44_

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_A/N: Takes place just after "Things Change", which episode, in my humble opinion, should never have been aired. This story is the progeny of yet another plot bunny that refused to die._

_Note of interest: Lisa's name comes from my admiration for a similar character in the stories "Coincidence and Misunderstandings" and "Consequences of Misunderstandings" by Silently Watches. If you haven't read them, you're missing a treat. _

_And, as usual, I don't have any stake, financial or otherwise, in the Teen Titans. I realize no gain from this or any other such bit of fan-fiction that I might produce. Those who do would be the Cartoon Network, Time-Warner, DC Comics, and all their affiliates and assigns._

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_Jump City, September 12, 4:22pm_

"Hey, Jaz, wait up!" called a petite blonde.

Her friend, slender and dark-skinned with a long, bouncy pony-tail, turned and smiled, pausing until the other girl caught up. "Hey, Lisa! Thought you were goin' to the library."

"I did. They didn't have the book, said it was available in e-form only. I'm s'posed to look it up online."

"Oh, okay."

They walked several paces in companionable silence before Jazmyn asked, "That Beast Boy guy leavin' you alone?"

Lisa huffed an exasperated sigh and muttered, "I wish." She continued, as she pushed her long, straight hair back over one ear, "I thought when I told him last week that I wasn't that 'Terra' girl he was pining over that he'd take a hint."

"But, no?"

"Not really. I mean … okay, he hasn't actually come up and **talked** to me, but …"

"Yeah?"

"… Okay, well, you know, I went to the Titans' Tower with him that first day, right?"

"Yeah."

"An' he showed me all kinds of stuff about Terra. Showed me her room."

"Yeah, you said that."

"There was this little jewelry box or something. Little heart-shaped box. He said he made it for m- … um, for her."

Jazmyn gave her a narrow eye for a couple of seconds. "Yeah. So?"

"It was on my window sill this morning."

"Oh!" Jazmyn rubbed at one of her arms. "Dang! Goosebumps!"

"Uh-huh."

"Sounds like he's got a serious thing for you, girl."

A new voice asked, "Who's got a thing?"

The two girls turned to look at the fiery redhead who had walked up behind them, and Jazmyn said, "Hey, Maeve. That Beast Boy character. He left Lisa an 'anonymous' present at her window this morning."

"… Crap."

"Uh-huh."

"… Can you take out a restraining order on a Titan? Would they even do that?"

Lisa was quick to placate her. "Don't worry about it. He's not dangerous. Not to me, anyhow. He's just … persistent."

"He's gonna _persist_ himself into my fist!"

Lisa had to giggle at that.

Jazmyn tugged on her arm and pointed to a news stand. "Hold on. Gotta get a paper."

With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, Lisa quipped, "Not the horoscope again? Seriously? You know that's all crap!"

"Is not. Okay, so maybe they don't always get little details right, but …"

"I don't suppose," inquired Maeve, "that I could get you two to just _shut the hell up_ about that? You do this every time."

They waited, Lisa tapping her foot in silent but very obvious impatience, while Jazmyn bought her paper and folded it open to the horoscope. "Okay, lessee … Lisa, you're a Virgo." She popped her eyes up above the paper briefly. "And you got a birthday comin' up. Don't you think for a _second_ we forgot."

Lisa groaned softly.

"Huh. Says here you got an unexpected meeting in the next few days."

"Which could apply just as well to three-fourths of the country. They do that on purpose."

Jazmyn said, "Maybe Beast Boy's gonna show up at your house with flowers."

"And maybe," growled Maeve, "Lisa can douse 'em in gas set 'em on fire."

The blonde shook her head, trying to hide a smile. "I don't have a gas can."

"Borrow mine?"

"Figures you'd have one."

Jazmyn's gaze flicked back to the paper. "Okay, and Maeve … yeah. Hee-hee!"

"What?"

"You need to work on 'conflict resolution'."

"No. I don't."

"Gasoline? Fire? Sounds like conflict to me."

"Humph. If violence isn't solving your problems, you just aren't using enough of it."

They walked on, the good-natured and animated argument killing time, until they came to Lisa's cross street where she bid them goodbye and turned left.

As she walked away, a hidden figure tracked her progress from across the street, moving to follow when she'd put a couple of blocks between them.

Lisa's home was relatively modest for the neighborhood, a four-bedroom split-level of pale beige brick on a decent lot. Her adoptive parents, though currently comfortable financially, each had large student loans that had eaten up a major portion of their incomes for a decade and a half after college. That was one of the reasons they didn't get married any sooner than they did. Consequently, they weren't nearly as affluent as most of their neighbors, but they had careers they loved, a strong, loving marriage … and now a daughter to love as well.

The girl skipped up the flagstone walk and into the front door. "I'm home!"

Her father's voice wafted back, "I'm in the study."

Quickly bouncing upstairs to the room in question, she slipped in and walked over to her father, leaning in and giving him a quick hug. "Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Sweetie." He pushed his chair back from a very cluttered desk and stretched before asking, "How was school?"

She moved some of the junk out of the way and perched on the corner of the desk. "Same ol'- same ol'. Still hate biology."

He chuckled. "Think you'll ever be able to smell formaldehyde again without gagging?"

"Not a chance. Stupid, rotten shark."

"I'm sorry, Hon, but it could be worse. I had to dissect a fetal pig and a stray cat."

"Bleah!"

"I know. Why do you think I became a writer instead of a medical examiner?"

"Maybe 'cause you stank at biology?"

He crossed his eyes. "Maybe 'cause _biology_ stank."

Lisa giggled at the squinched-up face he made. "Well, hate it or not, I've got homework."

"Guess you better get to it, then."

" 'kay, Dad." She dropped a kiss on his forehead and then took a detour through the kitchen to snag an apple before heading up to her room. Neither of them had any way of knowing that their conversation was being monitored – and recorded – via a very sophisticated set of bugs that had been placed in the house several weeks earlier.

A little over an hour later, Lisa was kicked back on her bed, earbuds pumping in an indie techno band at near-painful levels, when her mother stuck her head in the door. "Hey, Lisa."

Popping out the earbuds and hitting a button on her music player, she sat up and smiled. "Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"You ever heard of The Partnership for Excellence in Blended Families?"

"… The who?"

"Okay, me neither. But they've heard of you."

Lisa's deeply puzzled face made her mother chuckle. "It's a support service for adoptive families."

"Oh! Ooookay … and we need support?" Lisa was still confused. "News to me."

The twinkle in her mother's eye indicated that she knew more than she was letting on. "Come downstairs with me and we'll find out together."

This was shortly accomplished. Her mother led them out to the backyard gazebo, positioned in the center of a large and carefully-raked rock garden, and then her parents were introducing Lisa to a distinguished elderly gentleman in a light-gray suit with a plum-colored tie, wearing a patch over his right eye. She gave him a firm handshake.

"Lisa," added her father, "this is Mr. Wilson. He's with the Partnership for Excellence."

"Yeah, Mom told me. Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Oh, the pleasure is mine, I'm sure." They all sat. "Did your mother tell you why I'm here?"

Lisa glanced between her parents, both of whom had large grins. "Uh, no. Not yet. What's up?"

"Hon," said her mother, gripping her hand in glee, "Mr. Wilson's group is offering you a scholarship!"

"… Wait, what? Scholarship? But … but my grades really aren't that good …"

"It is not about grades, young lady, but potential. Also, while it is true that biology may not be your forte," and here he gave her parents a wink, "your math skills are quite impressive."

"Yeah, well, math's easy." She shuddered briefly. "Nothin' to cut up in math. Nothin' to squirt stinky slime on you."

"Our group," continued Mr. Wilson, "is committed to helping overcome the unique challenges of the adoptive family. We feel that, should you decide to pursue a career in mathematics, it would only be fair to compensate you for the effort."

"Compensate?"

Her father stated, "He's talking about twenty grand a year, paid to the college of your choice."

Lisa's eyes got huge.

At that point her mother's cell phone _deedled_ a certain tune, pulling a frown across her face. She muttered, "Please excuse me," and got up, walking toward the house while answering the call.

Mr. Wilson's brow knitted in concern as they watched her leave. "Nothing serious, I hope?"

"Uh … well, Marjorie works for a pharmaceutical R&D lab. That ringtone is the one she uses for her office."

"Oh, dear."

"It may not be anything. They call her all the time for direction. See, she's got this project …"

His wife came hurrying back to the gazebo, her face the picture of frustration. "Dave, I'm sorry! That new high-speed micro-factory …"

"They need you to come in?"

"Yes, blast it. Kervin's out of the country this week and they can't get Susan to answer her phone. I'm next in the queue."

"Well, if you have to go, better get going."

They both apologized profusely to Mr. Wilson, who was the very image of calm reason. "It is no bother, truly. I certainly understand. You were both too kind to see me on such short notice in the first place. Please, go attend to your work. We can go over the rest of the details when you return."

Thanking him again, Lisa's mother hurried off to her lab.

Mr. Wilson turned to Lisa's father. "Mr. McMahan, I would not fault you at all if you were to …"

Another ringtone cut the air and this time Lisa's father got an annoyed look on his face. He pulled out the device, grimaced and said, "Well, snap. Thought I recognized … yeah, it's my editor. Why's he even …" Making a gesture that indicated he'd be right back, Mr. McMahan got up and stalked into the house.

Neither Lisa nor Mr. Wilson said anything for a few moments. Then the old gentleman said, "That should keep them both occupied for a bit."

Lisa startled and asked, her voice cracking, "What … what do you mean?"

"I think you know perfectly well the real reason I am here, Terra."

"… Who?"

"Please. I am not Beast Boy, to be put off with lame excuses and transparent fabrications. I know who you are. And I know that _**you**_ know who you are."

"What does that Beast Boy guy have to do with …"

"I had been waiting for the effects of your imprisonment to wear off. I was confident they would, and that it was only a matter of time."

Lisa's eyes went very round.

"You see, my dear apprentice, I do not give up so easily. Not when the stakes are this high."

"Who are you?"

"You are very well aware of that, too, Terra. Please do not insult my intelligence by denying it again."

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but she remained silent.

"I came by today to let you see how this is going to work. You will accept the scholarship. You will move from your current school to a 'special' school, a place quite removed from here, where you will receive intensive individual attention." He leaned forward slightly to emphasize his point. **_"My_** individual attention."

"But I don't … I mean, I'm not …"

"You may not be now. That is true. But I have every confidence that we can get you to remember, and revive your abilities, and … renew our bond." He smirked. "You really are becoming quite a lovely young woman. Not the spindly, gawky teen who first came to me for help."

"… I … I don't want …"

"That, my dear, is entirely inconsequential. What you will _**do**_ is obey me."

A faint line of 'stubborn' invested her jaw. "And if I refuse?"

"That would be … unwise. And very unpleasant for your dear, kind adoptive parents."

The 'stubborn' was joined by 'rage'. "You leave them alone! They never did anything to you!"

"Indeed. And they will remain perfectly safe, as long as you do exactly what I tell you to do." He pulled out a small, rectangular device. "On the other hand …"

She eyed the thing in sudden alarm. "What's that?"

"Do you recall when your father was in Atlanta last month and slipped and fell in the lobby of his hotel?"

"… Uh … yeah." That question seemed like the king of all non-sequiturs. "Why … how do you know about …"

"He needed a quick trip to the emergency room, did he not?"

"… Uh-huh."

"Then week before last your mother had her annual physical."

That he had all this information chilled Lisa to the bone. She just stared at him.

"In both cases they were attended by physicians who were, shall we say, temporarily in my employ."

She couldn't make any words come out of her mouth.

"Each of your parents now has implanted within their bodies a tiny device. When activated by the proper signal, it will release a particularly virulent poison."

"No!"

"Oh, certainly not. If you do as I say."

Lisa stared at him. Then her eyes jerked to the remote. Then her face settled into a mask of resignation. She whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what? Leaving my service? Pretending to be something you're not? Surely you don't believe …"

That was when one of the rocks in the garden, a round, white stone about the size of her fist, hit the back of his hand at half the speed of sound. The hand, and the remote it had held, were both pulverized, blood spraying across the gazebo's clean, wooden boards.

Mr. Wilson gave a strangled cry, but then many, many rocks, from every point in the garden, pounded into him, knocking the air from his lungs, breaking bones, picking him up out of his seat and quickly covering him completely, save for the one eye.

Lisa stood and walked the few steps to stand in front of him. "What I'm sorry for ... is having to kill you. I didn't want to do it." She shook her head. "You should have believed me. You should have just let it go. Should have let _**me**_ go. But instead," and here her eyes grew stormy, her face set in fury, "instead, you decided to threaten the lives of my parents. Yeah, maybe I've only even _**known**_ 'em less than a year. But I love them. And they love me. And _**you**_," she said, moving a little closer, "are _**not**_ going to _**hurt**_ them – or anyone else – ever again."

He tried to say something, but couldn't move his mouth.

"And for your information, the effect didn't 'wear off'. I overcame it. In that tomb of rock, I practiced and practiced and strained and worked until I regained control. _Complete_ control. As you'd put it, mastery."

The terrified eye disappeared behind a wall of gravel. The rocks began to grind against each other, then to flow and melt until Mr. Wilson's form was covered in a seamless cocoon of stone. Then it began to stretch and attenuate, getting smaller and smaller in the middle until finally, with a muted pop, it separated into two parts. This stony mitosis was repeated, yielding four large rocks. Then again, and again, and again, and again …

After a couple more minutes, the round, white stones of the rock garden, all now very slightly larger than they had been, settled back into their places, a few of them having already scrubbed the blood off the floor. Lisa smoothed her skirt, shook her head, drew a long sigh, and went back into the house to find her father and inform him that Mr. Wilson had been very suddenly called away.

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_A/N: Yeah, I think Terra's pretty much a badass. Let me know what You think, eh?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Not Really All That Subtle**

_By Concolor44_

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_I received a couple of PMs (and one slightly irate review) indicating that I should strongly consider adding to this story. That hadn't been in the cards originally. But then my Muse started worrying the concept like a Rottweiler with a beef joint, and … well, here you go._

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**Chapter 2**

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_Titans' Tower, September 13, 7:48am_

Robin rubbed his forehead, hard, with the heels of both hands, blew a frustrated sigh and then stared again at the changeling. "You did _**what?**_"

"I was worried about her!"

"That's _stalking_, Beast Boy!"

"Is not!"

"It's creepy!"

Beast Boy threw his hands up. "It was my regular patrol and I just happened to be there and I saw …"

"Just 'happened' to be there? I don't think her neighborhood's on your route."

"Route-schmoute. I was s'posed to cover the north half of the city. Her house is _**in**_ the north half of the city."

"For very southerly values of 'north', maybe."

"I'm _supposed_ to try to spot 'suspicious activity'," and here he made little tic-marks in the air, "like you said. And you know how a hawk's eyes are! I don't miss things. He was skulking! I know a skulker when I see him, and that was a skulk if ever there was one! So I went lower and …"

"Is that when you noticed her? The first time?"

"… Um … yes?"

"You don't lie for crap."

Beast Boy suddenly found the carpet very interesting.

Robin's mouth twisted in a skeptical smirk. "Uh-huh."

His head jerked back up, mouth set in a thin line. "Well, so what? I was right, wasn't I?"

"I don't know. Were you? You said he disappeared."

"I said I couldn't find him later. _**Not**_ the same thing. And isn't that suspicious just all by itself?"

"Why would it be?"

"Rob … listen to yourself. If you'd seen what I saw, you'd be all over it like ugly on a hagfish! You might've _called_ the rest of us, but you wouldna come back here. Tell me I'm wrong!"

Robin had started to wave a finger in the air, but slowed and then stopped. Beast Boy was making a little sense. That, just in and of itself, was somewhat disturbing. "Okay, maybe. But you've _**really**_ got to leave this girl alone. You said she told you she's not Terra, right?"

"… Well … yeah, but …"

"Why would she lie to you?"

"… I don't know. Maybe she's scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I dunno! Scared we'll be mad at her? Scared we might try to put her in jail for helping Slade wreck half the city?"

"Terra ended up _**saving**_ the city."

"Yeah, **I** know that, and **you** know that, but I don't know _**what**_ kinda shape _**her**_ memory's really in! Maybe all she knows is that she did something bad and then everything else is a blank."

"Beast Boy …"

"Dontcha think that'd scare pretty much anybody?"

"Beast Boy …"

"An' we'll never know we if don't talk to her some more!"

"Logan! Zip it!"

He crossed his arms and pouted. Robin never called him 'Logan' unless he was pretty well pissed off.

"You may have a point." He had to calm the excitable changeling after that statement. "But … okay. Tell you what. I'll do a little digging. See what I can turn up. Maybe there _**is**_ a connection." His finger jabbed the air in front of Beast Boy's eyes. "But _**you**_ lay off. Got it?"

"… Got it."

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_Jump City, September 15, 4:45pm_

"They just _**had**_ to pick a neighborhood," Robin groused, "where the builders actually paid attention to good zoning practices."

Beast Boy grinned at his aggravation. "Miss havin' your tall buildings around?"

Robin just shrugged.

"I told ya we shoulda borrowed the T-Car."

"It's too recognizable, especially if you're right."

"… Okay. Point." He gestured around at their perch. "And squattin' in a tree isn't noticeable?"

Indicating his larger-than-normal cape colored in a random pattern of dark browns and greens, he said, "We're disguised." Then he glanced over at the other teen. "Well, I am. You're green anyway."

"Har-har." His ears pricked up. "Hey, there she is."

Robin swiveled the camera around. It was a high-tech custom job (duh) that was mounted to the tree for stability. He zoomed in on the girl of interest and adjusted the focus. Then he gave a low whistle.

Beast Boy's grin got bigger. "Told ya."

"Well. Huh. Okay, let me …" He took several pictures and uploaded them to Cyborg's computer. Then he opened his T-Com. "Cy?"

"Yeah, I got it. System's doin' the comparison now. Shouldn't take too … whoa."

"What?"

"That _**really**_ didn't take long."

"And?"

"ProfiMate says it's her."

Beast Boy punched Robin's arm.

"Okay, well … there _**are**_ cases of identical strangers that …"

The changeling threw his arms up. "You gotta be kiddin' me! Seriously? Listen at yourself! That's Terra, I know it!"

"All right, calm down." They watched as the girl strode purposefully down the sidewalk, turning in at her home.

When Robin turned back to Beast Boy it was to see him in the form of an orangutan, balanced on the limb in the lotus position, eyes closed, the thumb and middle finger of each hand curled into an 'o' over his knees. "Ommm. Ommm. Ommm. Okay, I'm calm. Now what?"

Robin gave his friend a look and shook his head, fighting a grin. "Let me study on it for a while."

"Fine. Whatever. You study it. But I'm right. Even Cy's computer says so."

"We'll see."

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_Jump City, September 16, 10:50am_

As it turned out, "Lisa's" parents were Seventh-Day Adventists. There weren't too many of them in Jump City, but the ones that were there had established a congregation, and the McMahon's were – _ahem_ – religious about attendance at their weekly meeting. They'd only been gone about eight minutes when Robin finished defeating their security system and eased into the second-floor window of Lisa's room.

_Hmm. She's a tidy sort. That's different from Terra, at least._ He went to the bed first, looking carefully around the headboard and pillow and finally locating and extracting a single blonde hair. He was careful not to move anything, and to scrub out the few footprints he'd made in her carpet. After reestablishing the house's security, he eased back out the window and exited the property via the trees.

_Not too shabby. I totally could have pulled off the Red-X deal._

Back at the Tower, he passed the hair over to Victor, who wasted no time in running it through the DNA sequencer. Twenty minutes later they were comparing the printout with Terra's file. They looked at each other. The cyborg gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Well, what were you expecting? BB was sure it was her. Her statue was gone. Don't tell me you're shocked."

"Not … shocked, exactly. Maybe a little mystified. Beast Boy said that roughly ten months had gone by since his previous visit to the volcano. How could she get so well-established in the system, and get adopted to boot, in that length of time?"

"Beats me. But DNA don't lie. Lisa McMahan **is** Terra, to a confidence level of one in almost four quadrillion. Bein' as how that's nearly a million times Earth's population …" He dropped the two sheets of paper on his desk and then leaned against it. "Question now is, what you gonna do about it?"

"An excellent topic for discussion. I will tell you one thing, though. By this time tomorrow I'll know everything there is to know – everything that can be gleaned from public records – about Lisa McMahan. Then maybe we can make some kind of determination."

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_Jump City, September 17, 1:45pm_

Dave McMahan opened the front door for his wife and daughter and waved them into the house. "Go on in, pearls before swine and all that."

Marjorie reached up and kissed his cheek on her way past. "And aren't you just the cutest little piggy!"

"Thanks for lunch, dad! The sushi was great."

"You are certainly welcome."

"How'd you know they'd have vegetarian?"

"It's not that uncommon, really. Lots of sushi restaurants have veggie items."

"Well I loved it." She blew him a kiss and ran upstairs.

He stretched up on his tip-toes, his fingers just missing the ceiling (he was a rather tall, lean sort) and gave a long, satisfied grunt. "I think a nap might be in order."

"Oof. If I went to lie down now I'd get the mother of all cases of heartburn."

"I keep telling you: you need to talk to Doc Fowler about that. He can prescribe something so you don't have to go through a bottle of antacids every two weeks."

"Well …" She had the grace to look a little guilty. "… see … he kinda already did."

"… What?"

"Yeah. At my physical. We, uh, talked about it."

He gave her an exasperated look. "That was two weeks ago!"

"I've just been busy!"

Holding out his hand, he said, "Let's have the scrip."

She fished around in her purse and then handed it to him.

"Thank you. It undoubtedly escaped your notice that my schedule is an awful lot more flexible than yours. We've only been married eleven years, after all."

"No need for sarcasm, dear."

"No, but it's too much fun to pass up."

She smacked him. "Go take your nap."

. . .

Upstairs, Lisa exited the hall bath and walked to her room. Opening the door, she paused briefly and closed her eyes … and then they flew back open, accompanied by a dark frown. Several needle-pointed rocks rose from a terrarium in the corner and hovered here and there, seeking a target.

Something had tripped her passive alarm system. It was a trick that she'd been doing for a few months now, ever since she thought it up: she kept a tiny quantity of fine sand inside the casement of her window, which she would balance on top of the spring-loaded counterweight assembly any time the whole family left the house. If the window was opened in her absence, the sand would spill off, and she could feel it when she got back. It was neat, effective, and completely undetectable.

She examined the room closely. Her personal effects were carefully and neatly arranged so that she could tell instantly if anything was moved or missing. She'd picked up that habit from Cyborg, who had begun doing it himself in defense against Beast Boy's constant pranks. All appeared to be in order. She studied the carpet under the window, but nothing seemed amiss there, either.

_Okay, I know for a fact there were no temblors. If it was one of Slade's old robots … no, they aren't that smooth. _She tapped a finger against her lips._ . . . . . . . Hmm._

It only took her a few more moments to come to a conclusion. No one but the Titans would have any reason to snoop her room, and the only one she could rule out completely was Victor Stone. Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven could all fly, and Robin was probably just that good.

_No, scratch Raven, too. She wouldn't have bothered opening a window in the first place._

She let the floating rocks settle back into the terrarium as her thoughts turned to the other three. She quickly decided that Beast Boy wouldn't have bothered with the window, either. He would have simply morphed into something small enough to wriggle through the lock. That left Starfire and Robin. She smirked to herself. Starfire had many fine qualities, but subtlety was not listed among them. No way could she have gotten in without tripping their household security system. And that just left Robin.

Okay, then … why? Knowing that he'd been there, in her room, looking at her stuff, made her … well, maybe 'mad' was too strong a word. Irritated? Yeah. And a little scared. She valued her privacy and her new family, and he had crossed a line there. But that put her in a bind, because she didn't want to confront him about it because then he'd know that she …

"You okay?"

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around and knocking into the doorframe.

Her mother backed up a step and put up her hands. "Whoa! Sorry, hon, I didn't mean to startle you!"

Lisa's heart was beating double-time. She laid a hand over it. "Hooo. Mom. Don't do that."

"I'm sorry! You were just standing there with such a worried look, I thought …"

"No, it's okay. Just … just woolgathering. I'm a little tired."

"You gonna nap, too? Leave me the only conscious member of the household?"

She gave her mother a small grin. "Dad ate too much, didn't he?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Well …" She looked back into her room. "I guess it's not a bad idea."

"Okay, then. And don't forget there's the ice cream social tonight at seven."

Her hands flew to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Holy cra- … um, holy cow! I did! I forgot! Jeepers!"

"Oh, don't worry." She patted her daughter's shoulder. "You'll be empty again by then."

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. . .

_5:50pm_

_These guys_, thought Raven, _could argue a mountain into pile of sand. Even when the answer is staring them in the face …_

The debate had been going for more than four hours and showed no signs of letting up.

Should they contact her? Would it do any good? What would they say? What might _**she**_ say?

Could she be reintegrated into the team? Would she be willing? How much, exactly, did she remember of her days as a Titan?

Were her powers dormant? If she did remember everything already, why the ruse? If she didn't, how dangerous might it be to remind her?

Everyone had an opinion, and no two agreed. They _did_ all finally agree to break for supper, though, and the team felt a lot more inclined to reasoned discussion after four pizzas and a box of ice cream.

Another hour of discussion led to Robin concluding with, "So, nothing just yet?"

Beast Boy looked back and forth between Starfire and Cyborg several times, and then threw up his hands. "Fine. Whatever. We'll … what was your word, Robin? Let her be? Fine. Great. Fine."

"For now, yes. I'll take a week or so, do a more thorough check of her background. Sift through the orphanage records, find out who did the forgeries and when and what for."

"I still say," put in Cyborg, "she did 'em herself."

"And I'll find out. Nobody covers his tracks perfectly. Or hers, probably, in this case." He glanced over at the team's resident empath. "You've been pretty quiet since supper, Raven. What do you think?"

She rose from her seat, pulled her cloak around her body, and floated upward. "I think I will go meditate on it." And she vanished through the ceiling.

"Girl of few words," observed Cyborg.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_Jump City, September 18, 4:45pm_

Maeve scooped another big spoonful of Double Dutch Chocolate Chunk frozen yogurt into her mouth and grinned at Lisa. "I gotta admit, girl. This was a good idea."

"Yeah," agreed Jazmyn, "don't know why you never thought of it before." She licked off her spoon and waved it around the small shop.

"It's 'cause we couldn't," objected Maeve, pointing at the GRAND OPENING sign in the window. "How'd you even find out about this place? They just opened, like, today."

Lisa paused, frowning. "Huh. I dunno." It seemed as if she hadn't entertained that idea at all, and that did surprise her a little. "Maybe … maybe I saw an advertisement?" She stared off into space for a few seconds and shook her head. "I don't really remember. But after that Calculus test, I needed _something_ to take the edge off."

Maeve was unimpressed. "Pffft! You and Calc are, like, best buds."

"Yeah, what have you got to worry about?" added Jazmyn. "You're acing that class."

"A quiz on a _Monday?_ Hello? I wasn't expecting it. Problem three had me sweatin' bullets 'til I remembered that integration trick he showed us last week."

"Problem three?"

"Uh-huh."

"_**Just**_ problem three?"

"… Well … yeah."

The other two girls traded sardonic looks. Maeve scraped out the last bits of her rich, dark-brown treat and shook her head. "Practically flunked, you did."

"Pbbbb."

"Seriously, Lisa, you'll just sail through that course."

"… Sail?" Jazmyn jumped to her feet. "Holy socks! I forgot! I gotta work on the Homecoming float!" She gazed around for a clock, not finding one, and then jerked out her phone. "Aw, jeez! I'm gonna be late!" And she ran out the door without a backward glance.

Maeve's phone rang not five seconds later. "Yeah? … Oh, hey, Mom. … No, I'm just sittin' here with Lisa. … WHAT?! … Ohcrapohcrapohcrap!" She scooted off her seat and began gathering her things and stuffing them into her backpack as fast as she could. "I'll be right there! I'm sorry! Ohcrapohcrap …"

Lisa watched her friend in befuddlement. "What's going on?"

"Aunt Jeanne's in town!"

"… Yeah? So?"

"Tomorrow's her thirtieth birthday, an' there's a surprise party for her tonight an' I promised Mom I'd make her favorite pie an' …" Maeve's voice trailed off as the door clicked softly shut behind her.

Nonplussed, Lisa glanced around the small shop, noting that she was the only customer. _Well. Ghost town, much?_ An uneasy feeling settled into her gut. This situation smacked just a little too much of other recent events for her taste. The store's attendant, a short, slight young man with dark hair, was working at the toppings bar, but even though he wasn't looking her way, she got a strange vibe from him. She quickly finished off her frozen confection, collected the other girls' cups, and dropped everything in the trash.

"I'd like to talk with you a little, if you don't mind."

The voice froze Lisa in her tracks. She turned and looked at the attendant, who was leaning against the display case, arms crossed.

"And, please, know that it is entirely up to you. I would appreciate it, if you can spare a few minutes, but I'll understand if you don't want to."

Knowing beyond doubt the answer to her query, Lisa nonetheless asked, "… Wh - who …?"

The 'boy' held out a finger and then removed the ring thereon. As soon as it cleared skin, the hologram faded, revealing the Titans' dark empath. She had on black skinny jeans and a light blue sweater.

Lisa backed slowly toward the door.

"Although I would like to say that I think you'll want the information I have."

The blonde spun and bolted outside, the door rebounding from the force of her departure.

Raven sighed, slumping against the case full of frozen yogurt. _Well, you knew it wasn't going to be easy._ She thought things over for a few minutes, came to a decision, and then looked around at the store. Standing tall, she raised her arms and drew a rune in the air. A series of arcane gestures followed a chanted incantation, and the illusion faded, the dull reality of a rickety, abandoned house replacing the bright colors of the yogurt shop.

"Eh. At least the yogurt's real. Guess the guys will have a little feasting to do tonight." And with a sweep of her arm, she and the frozen treats were swallowed by a black rift in reality.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_A/N: Heh. Looks like Raven might have a hard row to hoe. All comments are welcome!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Not Really All That Subtle**

_By Concolor44_

. . .

. . .

. . .

**Chapter 3**

_And here's the final installment. Just so we're all clear on what should REALLY be obvious, I have no financial ties with the Teen Titans, DC Comics, Warner TV, or any of their subsidiaries or assigns. I make no money of any kind from writing fan-fictions, and therefore there is no point in suing._

_. . ._

_. . ._

_. . ._

_Jump City Industrial District, September 21, 4:48pm_

"Cyborg! On your six!"

The robotic teen spun halfway and aimed his sonic cannon back under his left arm, zeroing the exoskeleton-clad crook who was drawing down on him. "Thanks Rob."

"Beast Boy!" shouted Starfire, "Duck!"

Obligingly, the changeling became one, dropping his previous deinonychus form and giving the alien a clear shot at the two robbers sneaking up from his blind side. A fusillade of starbolts rendered them instantly unconscious.

A rocket-propelled grenade streaked toward her, only to be enveloped in a ball of inky darkness which quickly swirled out of existence. Then the crook who fired it and his spotter were both covered in the same eldritch energy, lifted twenty feet in the air, slammed together emphatically a few times, and dropped to the concrete. They didn't move.

One of the crooks, a man named Johansen who happened to be the infiltration team's leader, was crouched in a corner behind a flight of stairs leading to a loading dock. They had been twelve strong when they started their heist, twelve well-trained mercenaries with top-grade weapons and some state-of-the-art powered body armor. Their objective, a classified electronics system, would only be positioned for the plucking during a narrow window of time while it was carried between its secure vault and the armored truck, which is why they had made their move in broad daylight. The payoff for this job would leave most of them set for life. They couldn't reasonably pass it up, even considering that the Teen Titans called Jump City home.

Now, Johansen could count eight unconscious men in black exoskeletons strewn about the street in front of the building they had robbed. He didn't know where the other three were. Hopefully they had avoided the fight and gotten away. But he knew their job was a total botch: the small crate with the esoteric hardware sat in the middle of the boulevard where his men had fallen. It was definitely out of his reach.

… Or maybe not. The remaining members of his team popped up at the far end of the block and began firing at the Titans, and Robin quickly directed three of his own to engage, leaving the dark girl in the cloak – Raven, if he recalled correctly – hovering in the air over the crate. This would likely be his only chance to recover the package and claim the thirty million dollar bounty.

Johansen eased his rifle around in front, stood slowly and smoothly, and brought it up to his shoulder, resting his sight on the Titan's head. He drew a breath, let half of it out, and began to squeeze the trigger …

… and the pavement under him bucked violently, causing his shot to go wild and pitching him high into the air, over the stairs, to land hard on one knee and one hand, both of which snapped. The rifle's report caught Raven's attention, and very soon he joined his men in Lights-Out Land.

A few minutes later Robin gave the all-clear. Raven and Beast Boy tossed the last of the mercenaries onto the pile with the others, and the Titans regrouped.

"Okay," began Robin, "Starfire, how are you feeling? I saw one of them hit you with some sort of gas. You looked like you were having trouble staying airborne."

"I … have felt better." Her orange skin had a slight greenish cast to it. "My … insides are … doing strange things."

Robin nodded. "I suspected as much. Cy, why don't you drive her back to the Tower and check her out in the infirmary?"

"On it." He scooped up the alien and they were soon lost to sight.

"All right, Beast Boy, I think you should help load the criminals into the wagons for the police."

"Suits me." He morphed into a kangaroo and bounded over to the nearest cruiser.

"I'll go talk with the Sergeant. Raven, can you see to it that the … whatever it is in that crate they were trying to steal … gets returned?"

She gave him her patented level stare. "Whoopee."

"Try to curb your enthusiasm."

She gave a frustrated sigh. "How would I know who it belongs to?"

"Would you rather fill out paperwork with the police?"

"Hmph." The crate was encased in black energy and came to hover in the air beside her. "You make a compelling argument."

"Thank you." He turned and trotted over to the unit commander, calling back over his shoulder, "Oh, and see if you can round up their weapons, too. I don't think we found them all, and we sure as heck don't want some local kid stumbling across a loaded automatic."

She nodded and then took a keen look around at the site of the battle. _Very well … ah, there's one … and two …_ The firearms in question rose to join the crate following her. _And that last miscreant, the one who fell and broke his … _ At that thought she stopped abruptly and scanned the area where she had caught him. _Wait. He was injured from a fall. It had to have been a relatively high fall, at least four meters but probably no more than six or seven, to do that much damage to him without killing him outright._ The problem with that calculation was that there was nowhere around close from which he could have taken such a tumble. The loading dock was less than a meter and a half above grade. But the roof of the building was a good twelve meters up. Taking a dive from there would kill any normal human. And there were no windows.

Frowning in concentration, she sent a bit of her soul-self over to the pile of criminals, sought out the man in question, and removed a watch from his arm. Then, bringing it back to where she floated, she closed her eyes and called up a bit of sympathetic magic, a spell to connect her temporarily to the most recent places the man had been. This revealed his hiding place behind the stairs, and she moved over to examine it.

_Well, there's his rifle._ It joined the other objects floating behind her. _But it's here behind the stairs … and he was out in front of them. That makes no sense. I know he fired it, that's how I spotted him. _ She scanned the front of the building carefully, but no other openings magically appeared. _How in the name of Azar did he fall?_

It wasn't even a handful of seconds before the answer hit her: the ground had been magically disturbed. Elsewhere in the vicinity the pavement was cracked and faded, but basically intact. Here? It looked pulverized, as if the asphalt had been reduced to its component gravel in a neat circle and then left there in an even layer.

She fought down a smile. A mere handful of minutes had passed since the fight. It was possible that the one who intervened was still nearby. Raven closed her eyes and placed her fingertips against her temples as she expanded her empathic powers to their limits.

_There._

Turning to her left, she peered between two buildings about halfway down the block. It was surely not her imagination: a quick flash of light gold vanished into the shadows of the alley.

_So. She is not so out of it as Robin thinks, not if she could come to my aid from that distance._ Raven grew even more determined than ever to have that talk with their former teammate. _First, however, I have to locate this thing's owner._ So thinking, she made her way over to the entrance. Pulling out her T-Com, she called Robin.

"Yes?"

"Do you want these rifles?"

"… I don't really have any use for … um, hang on." There was muffled speech in the background, then, "Sergeant Baynes says he'd like to take a look at them."

"Fine." The weapons swirled into nothingness. "They're in his squad car." And she closed the device as she went on into the building.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_5:35pm_

Raven stood across the street, examining the front of Aroma's Coffee House. The café was an unassuming place. She had actually been there a few times on the recommendation of a friend of hers in her poetry club, but while their organic chai latte was top-notch, the pastries and sandwiches left a lot to be desired. That was okay with her. Most of the time she didn't want anything but the chai.

She wondered whether Terra knew of this preference of hers. _No, it's __**Lisa**__. That's the name she's using now and I have to respect that._

It hadn't taken but a few minutes to gain an audience with someone possessing enough authority to take the crate off her hands. Immediately afterward she followed her empathic leadings a couple of blocks away to this tiny coffee shop. Her quarry was in there, and Raven knew she was waiting specifically for her. Although she got heavy doses of nervousness and fear and worry, there wasn't even a scrap of antagonism or ill will.

Very well. Thinking it over for just a few seconds convinced her that Lisa would want to keep as low a profile as possible. That meant not going in there wearing her uniform. She teleported back to her room, peeled off her cloak and leotard, and rummaged around for something a lot more "civilian".

When she pushed open the café's door a few minutes later and cast her eyes around for the blonde, she had on a light gray windbreaker over a sleeveless dark-red top, and black linen slacks. She'd opted to keep her boots, as they more or less went with the ensemble. Her hair was tucked up in a white knit cap.

Lisa spotted her instantly, and Raven could tell that she was still sort of debating whether to stay and talk or just run. To help her decide, Raven gave her a warm smile (well, as warm as she could manage). It seemed to settle Lisa's mind somewhat.

The empath walked casually over in her direction and took a seat at the table beside Lisa's, not making eye contact at the moment. A young man came over and offered her a menu, but Raven said, "Just a tall chai latte," and handed him a five. Then she clasped her hands comfortably and leaned on her elbows, giving Lisa a brief, sideways glance.

The blonde's eyes swept around the place, noting that all the other people there (and there weren't many) were absorbed in their own conversations. With only a brief hesitation, she got up, clutching her drink, and moved over one seat to the chair beside Raven. Giving the Titan a penetrating look, she said, "Thanks for coming in your civvies."

"No problem. I don't want to draw attention either."

"You never did."

"And that hasn't changed." She returned Lisa's stare, but there was no challenge in it. "You have, though."

"Hmh. Yeah."

"Thanks, by the way."

"… Oh. Um, you're welcome." She fidgeted a little and said, "I wasn't going to. You were doing fine and all, but … but he was gonna shoot you and …"

Raven placed a hand on Lisa's, stilling the girl, who stared in surprise at the contact, and then into Raven's eyes. "Okay. So you _**have**_ changed some."

"Yeah. I have." And she gave Lisa another smile. "Some."

Lisa, after several seconds, turned her hand palm-up and laced her fingers with Raven's. "It's been hard."

"I imagine so."

"I guess Robin's probably found out everything about me there is to find out now, huh?"

"He wouldn't be Robin if he hadn't."

"Hmh. Yeah." She took a sip of her tea. "So … he knows … that is, he's figured out who I, uh … who I am?"

"Yep."

"… How?"

"DNA."

She blinked at Raven a few times while the gears whirred. "He got a hair from my room, didn't he?"

"He did."

"Was that all? I didn't find anything missing, but …"

"As far as I know, that was all he wanted."

"Okay … am I gonna have to worry about Robin breaking into my room anymore?"

That almost pulled a chuckle out of Raven. "I will see to it that THAT does not happen again. I will point out to him that such activities are illegal – which he bloody well knows already – and that he could get not just himself, but the team in serious trouble by stalking a private citizen that way."

"… Okay."

Raven's other hand joined their clasped ones, and she turned slightly toward Lisa. "It's obvious that you prize your privacy. I will make sure that they know that. All of them, especially Beast Boy."

"Did you know that he left that heart-box he made for me on my window sill a few nights ago?"

Raven sat up a bit straighter. "No. That I did not."

"I'm afraid he's not gonna give up."

"Oh, I don't doubt that he'll harbor feelings for you for a long time to come."

"That's not what I mean. It could live with that."

"Oh?"

"He wants me to … to come back. To be a …" She glanced around, making sure no one was listening. "… a Titan again."

"Ah. Yes, well, he has strong feelings about that, too."

"But I don't want to."

"You don't want to be a Titan?"

"No. … I don't."

"I can accept that. I will see what I can do to get Gar to accept it as well."

"I would appreciate that more than you can know."

"I do have a question about that, though."

Lisa nibbled her lower lip for a bit. "Okay. What?"

"Is there one, big, main obstacle that would keep you from being a Titan? I only ask because you seemed to enjoy it so much, and if there is some hurdle that I can help with …"

"Oh! No, no. No, that's not it at all."

"Ah."

Most of a minute went by while Lisa mulled over her answer. "Okay. Let's start with you."

"Me? What about me?"

"You grew up in that other place, right?"

"Yes, Azarath."

"Right. And you had a really tough childhood."

"… Well, yes. I did. But I don't ever recall us talking about …"

"It was Gar. He told me a lot about you." She dropped her eyes. "He could tell we didn't … get along too well. He was trying to help."

"I see."

"Should I not have said anything?"

"No, it's … it's all right."

"I know what it's like, you know? Things in your past. Things you don't like to remember."

"And _**do**_ you remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"No gaps? No missing time periods or hazy spots?"

"I wish."

Raven didn't say anything to that, so they sat in silence for a while. Lisa absently rubbed her thumb over the back of Raven's hand. The empath enjoyed the sensation more than she thought she would. Finally Lisa sighed and said, "Pretty much my whole childhood was one, long, excruciating train wreck."

Raven's smile peeked out again. "Hey, don't hold back on my account. You can tell me how you really feel."

"I'm serious. Everywhere I went. Always the same. I'd try to put down roots, try to fit in. Find some family that would take in a stray. But it would never last long because I'd get startled or have a bad dream or get hurt. You know, like a skinned knee? And I'd break something." Her eyes made a furtive compass of the room. "Or a lot of somethings."

Raven squeezed her hand. "I know about some of that now. I wish you had been more … forthcoming with us right from the start."

"I was scared and fourteen and stupid. I don't make any … _**excuses**_ for what I did. There's no way to excuse it." She squeezed back and closed her eyes against the threatening tears. "You guys … you were angels. _**Are**_ angels."

"You say this to a half-demon? Did you take a graduate course in irony or something?"

"I'll stand by it, too. You were better to me than anyone else ever had been in, like, the history of ever. And I was stupid and mean and …"

"And you fell under the sway of the most malicious, deceitful, manipulative mastermind of evil on the planet. Don't sell yourself short. Your situation wasn't all _**that**_ different from Robin's."

"… Huh?"

"You weren't party to that information. We didn't talk about it out of deference to Robin, but … well, Slade forced him to become his apprentice."

The wide, blue eyes got a good bit wider. "No way."

"Oh, yes. Slade had infected the rest of us with nanites that he controlled. If Robin didn't work for him, he was going to kill us all. Painfully."

"Holy crap."

"Robin tricked him, finally, and we managed to fix things, but he spent some weeks in Slade's employ. He broke a lot of laws."

"Well … still. Slade forced him. I went voluntarily."

"Under a huge pile of false assumptions."

"… Okay. Yeah. But …"

"But nothing. In the first place, what's past is past. I won't dwell on it if you won't. In the second place, by stopping the volcano and saving the city – and, incidentally, getting rid of Slade – you more than redeemed yourself to us."

A faint shade of rose suffused Lisa's cheeks. Raven was struck by how pretty it made her look. Not that she wasn't quite a looker to begin with. Those eyes were downright captivating.

"Well," the blonde finally choked out, "if you're satisfied, I guess I should be, too."

"More than satisfied." Raven patted her hand and then released it, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs at the ankle. "Now. You said there was no single, big hurdle."

"… What do you … Oh! Right." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "This kinda goes back to you again, and that icky childhood."

"… How?"

"Okay, your, uh, father was a big-time demon, right?"

"The biggest. What of it?"

"And your mom … those Azarath guys kept you away from her, right?"

"… Garfield certainly was liberal with his information."

"He was just trying to help." Lisa shrugged a little. "His motives were good, even if his execution left a lot to be desired. Anyway, taking your family life into account, answer me this: if you found a way to re-live that part of your life, would you do it?"

"… I don't quite follow. Why in all the hells there might be would I want to go through _**that**_ again?"

"Okay, okay, maybe it's not a perfect analogy. But look. I never really had a family. Even as a baby, before my powers woke up – I was around five when that happened – even when I was little, I never had much of a family. My dad traveled all the time for work, and when he was home, he drank. A lot. He wasn't much fun, I do remember that. But halfway through first grade I got caught up in some kind of ruckus on the playground and … and I started an earthquake. It wasn't a big one, but it damaged the school building and some bricks fell off and two of my classmates got hurt. One of 'em was in the hospital for a couple weeks."

"You were a little child! You can't blame yourself for …"

Lisa held up a hand. "What I know _**now**_, what I understand _**now**_, has no bearing at all on what I understood or felt _**then**_. I knew I had done it. The way my power works, there's this feedback. It's like how you can close your eyes and still know where your hands are, except it's … heavier. Like, tons heavier. The guilt was … crushing. Think about it. A basically decent little kid, six years old, and she's just hurt two of her friends. And she's scared to death that someone will find out, and scared even worse that she'll do it again."

"Damn, Lisa!"

"I know. That's why I left. I really, really didn't want that to happen to any more of my friends."

"Wait. You left?"

"Yeah."

"What, right then?"

"Yeah."

"But … you were six!"

"Yeah. Sucks, don't it?"

"How'd you live?"

"Like I said earlier. I would look for a family, somebody that would take in a little kid."

"Your parents must have worried themselves to death!"

A disgusted look came to rest in the blue eyes. "Not so much. I overheard 'em talking about me, trying to figure out what to do with me. They knew some and suspected more about my abilities. They were afraid. Afraid of me. My leaving was the best thing I could do for 'em."

"… Wow."

"Yeah."

"Ter- … um, Lisa, I … wow. That's … terrible."

"I never stayed anywhere long. Something would always happen. Earthquake. Mudslide. Sinkhole. Cave-in. Something. Longest I ever stayed in any one spot was five months. Made a good friend there, girl named Helen. We were tight. I was nine, almost ten. Our birthdays were only a week apart, and we were gonna have a party together, and … we were with our class at this farm … on a field trip. There was a bull, and it got out of its lot. Scared everybody." Her eyes were unfocused. Raven could tell she was seeing across the years. "The teacher was trying to get us all inside, but the bull was fast. It ran at us. And I got … I panicked. There was an earthquake. Pretty big one. It wrecked the building we were trying to get in. The whole thing just came down." Hollow eyes came up to meet Raven's, accompanied by wave upon wave of guilt and sorrow and pain and remorse. "Four of the kids died. Helen was one of them."

"Oh … Lisa!"

"I left that night."

Raven scooted her chair around so she could hold the blonde. Lisa rested her forehead against Raven's shoulder and fought down the tears. _No wonder she's so fragile! No wonder Slade had such an easy time worming his way into her mind! She's a walking pile of PTSD! I've got to figure out some way to get her into counseling. She can't go on like this._

"So, when I finally got out of that stone form and realized that everyone thought I was dead … I saw that I had another chance."

"Of course we would give you another chance! Lisa, you're our friend!"

"No, you don't get it. I had another chance to see what it was like being a part of a real family."

Raven abruptly sat up, accompanied by a veritable flashbulb-sea of insights. "Oh!"

Lisa smiled at her expression. "Now you get it."

"You want a mom and a dad."

"I _**have**_ a Mom and a Dad. I love them. I've only known them eight months, but it really feels a lot longer than that. And they're wonderful and loving and supportive and fun and helpful and wicked smart … and I don't have to worry about my powers hurting them."

"I guess not. What you did out there today proves the level of control you have."

"Oh, that's nothing. I should show you my sculptures."

"You into rock-carving now?"

"In a manner of speaking. But getting back to our main topic, I don't want to be a Titan because right now I have something a whole lot more important to do. I have to be a daughter. And a high school student. And a best friend to a couple other girls." She smiled again. "I have to be normal."

"Um … I don't know that you can _**be**_ normal. We aren't, you know. Your genes have something to say about that."

"I know. But I don't have to _**lean**_ on it … don't have to _**rely**_ on it. I can give 'normal' a darn good try."

"Okay, then. You want to be Typical Girl, kitchen heroine and champion of hairbrush karaoke."

"Partly. Mainly I want to protect what I have. I want to protect my Mom and Dad. I've got a real chance here, a chance to experience a little of what I missed growing up, what I missed as a kid." The blue in her eyes just then took on less of 'summer sky' and more of 'gun barrel', and the sudden change startled Raven. "I will do what I have to do to protect them."

"Well … hopefully that won't involve anything too strenuous."

"Hopefully. And that's why I don't want to be a Titan. The superhero gig takes up all your time."

"No argument there."

"Too right. So if I'm gonna give this 'average everyday girl' thing a real go, I can't just do it as some sort of 'secret identity'. It has to be me. The real me, twenty-four/seven."

Raven nodded. Lisa was instituting her own kind of therapy through her new family. "How is that working out for you so far?"

"Better than I had any right to hope. Mom and Dad are wonderful. They were engaged for a few years before getting married, and then married for several before trying to have kids, and then it turned out they couldn't. There was a problem with Mom's fallopian tubes. They thought about going the 'in vitro' route, but decided to adopt instead."

"And they went ahead and adopted a … you're almost eighteen now, right?"

The girl blushed and dropped her eyes. "Well … according to my records, I'm almost _**fifteen**_."

Raven raised an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth.

"I'm sorry! It's not entirely honest, I know. I … wrestled with that. I did. But … but if I was gonna give this a go, a real effort, I knew I'd have to go through the whole high school experience. And that hasn't been easy, let me tell you! Chronologically, I might be late teens, but academically? My background there is _**really**_ light."

"Ah. I'd imagine so."

"And I figure I can slide by and nobody will question my age. I'm short and thin and don't really have much of a shape. My mother was like that, so I won't really attract attention for, you know, something like having big boobs as a Freshman." She rolled her eyes and giggled, which sound struck Raven as ridiculously cute. "There are a couple girls in my class … jeepers. Poor things. One of 'em has got to be a 'D', and she's barely fourteen. The guys give her a hard time, but some of the girls are even worse. The nicknames are just horrible."

"Kids can be so cruel."

"Don't I know it."

"Okay, so you're … just starting your Sophomore year?"

"Yep."

"And you've made some friends."

"I have. A couple of really good ones. Maeve and Jazzy are the best!"

"And you love your parents, and they love you, and your home life is idyllic?"

Lisa blinked at her. "Huh?"

"Basically perfect."

"Oh. Okay, yeah. Pretty much, I'd say so." She grimaced. "Vocabulary is another sore spot. I traveled a lot, so I speak five languages, but only just basic conversation level stuff. It was a survival thing."

"I see. But according to your records, you have an aptitude for math."

"Well, sure. Math is fun."

"While I agree with that assessment, most people wouldn't."

"Heh. Like Maeve and Jaz."

"But, anyway, getting back to your situation … it sounds as if you've managed something of a coup. You've got all the support systems you need for any healing you have to do."

Lisa grew thoughtful. "Healing. Yeah. 's funny, I hadn't thought of it in those terms, but you're right." A slow smile grew. "And you know what that implies?"

"That you'll get better?"

"That I'll get better."

"Sounds like a plan."

Lisa surprised Raven with a tight hug. "You are the best! An angel, just like I said."

Raven got over her shock well enough to return the hug. "I don't know about that. But I do like this new you. You're a good person, Lisa."

Tears were smarting the corners of her eyes when Lisa leaned back to look at Raven. "Heh. That's exactly what Mom says."

"Well, she's right."

"Thank you, Rae. Thanks for talking with me."

"Thanks for saving my life."

_*sniff*_ "I owed you one."

"Ah-ah! None of that. As I told you, what's past is past. You're a different creature now."

They sat silently for a minute while Lisa absorbed that idea. "Yeah. Guess I am." Then she glanced at her watch. "Dang. We've been here almost half an hour! I better call Mom." She drew her cell phone from her backpack.

"If you need a lift, I can get you where you need to go. Or very close."

Lisa considered the idea briefly, but then smiled and shook her head. "This is part of that 'normal' thing, I guess. Hairbrush Karaoke Girl doesn't get to teleport."

Raven snapped her fingers. "That reminds me! How was it that you were there to save my hide from getting perforated? That's not your usual stomping grounds."

"Ah. No, it's not. I was on a city bus, coming back from the library, but I think I got the wrong one, and when those guys started shooting up the street, the driver just cut and ran. He left the bus a block and a half from your fight."

"And you were curious."

"That part of me hasn't changed, either." She stood and picked up her pack. Raven got up as well and walked with her to the door. They hugged again in front of the shop, and then Lisa hit a number on her phone. "Mom? Hey, I'm gonna be some late. … My bus got stopped. … Well, the Teen Titans were fighting some guys …" Her voice trailed off as she walked away.

Raven watched her as her slight figure diminished in the distance, a smile playing with the corners of her mouth. Then she sighed and looked around, spotting an alley. As she walked that way so she could teleport in solitude, she thought, _I'll explain all this to Cy first, then we'll go talk with Star. Maybe the three of us can convince Robin to leave her alone. And then maybe the four of us can sit on Beast Boy until he comes to his senses._ Once in the shadows between the buildings, she vanished in a swirl of darkness.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_A/N: And that's a wrap. Let me know what you think. Also, let me know if you have any ideas (or desires) for a sequel. Because that's a distinct possibility._

_Cheers!_


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